Utility bar



Nov. 3, 1942. w. c. HUXEL 2,300,840-

' UTILITY BAR Filed April-30, 1940 Wig/fer i /w rl INVEN'II'OR, I

Patented Nov. 3, 1942 UNITED STATES OFFICE.

"1 Claim.

The present invention relates to a utility bar. While the device of the invention is particularly designed for use by fire fighters, it should be understood that it lends itself to use by persons otherwise engaged, as will be appreciated after a full description thereof.

Reference is made herein particularly to use of the device by fire fighters, because of the great number of operations that may be performed thereby pursuant to the work and duties of fire fighters. For example, the utility bar of this invention may be used foropening locked doors and windows, shutting off gas meter valves, opening and closing the valves of fire hydrants, removing tight hydrant caps and all known types of hydrant stop lids, dislodging staples to open garage and barn doors, removing plaster and lath, pulling off shingles, cutting and removing sheet metal roofs or sections thereof, prying up flooring and weatherboarding, releasing wreckage victims, to mention a few of the uses to which the tool may be placed, without requiring separate attachments or difierent styles of the tool.

One of the objects of the invention is to combine in a single utility bar or tool, the features necessary for the performance of the functions listed above, along with other functions of lesser importance.

Another object of the invention is to produce a utility bar of the character stated, which may be manufactured with comparative ease, and at a low production cost.

Another object of the invention is to provide a utility bar having the characteristics mentioned, which will be so balanced and have its essential parts so arranged, as to enable the tool to be easily handled without contributing to fatigue of the user thereof.

A further object is to provide a tool of the character stated, which may easily be picked up from a position of rest in a horizontal plane.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the utility bar ing, the character 5 indicates the shank of the h tool which may be several feet in length, and

which preferably is made from a bar of tough steel or other heavy material. Nickel steel has been found quite acceptable as the materialconstituting the entire device. As shown herein, the shank is made from a solid bar, and al, though the illustration shows the bar in cylindrical form, it may be so finished as to present facets angularly related so as torender the cross section contour rectangular, pentagonal, octagonal, or of other geometricform.

The upper end of the bar preferably is uni-; 'formly tapered to a slim-cone shape, and bent almost at right angles to the shank axis, to prov vide a pick 6 having a pointed end 1. The pick end preferably is bent upon a rather wide curvature so as not to set upstrains in the material which would crystallize and impair the strength and durability of the pick end of the tool. The opposite end of shank 5 is gradually flattened beginning at the location 8, at opposite sides of the shank, to furnish a wide flattened and enlarged head 9, disposed within the limits of the locations I!) and I2. Below the point 12, the head again widens, as at I 3, to provide a substantial fulcrum heel M intermediate the longitudinal rear edge l5 and the claw portion [6. The width of the claw portion exceeds the thickness of the head, and may approximate or exceed the diameter of the shank 5.

The flattened and enlarged head 9 has an edge I! which is directly opposite and substantially parallel to the rear edge l5, and said edge I! is ground or otherwise formed to furnish a cutting edge between the locations I8 and IQ of edge [1. The cutting edge is located remotely from the major axis of the shank, and in substantial parallelism therewith. The distance from the cutting edge to the shank axis may approximate the distance of said shank axis from the rear edge l5 of the head, however, this limitation is not to be considered an essential one. It is desirable, however, that the cutting edgeextend forwardly of the substantially triangular broad nose portion 20, which slopes toward the extended axis of the shank in approaching the claw portion I6 of the tool, for by so relatingthe broad nose to the cutting edge and to the claw and its fulcrum, a particularly desirable result is attained in that a prying operation may be aided by the broad nose without inadvertently bringing about a cutting or shearing action.

The legs 2| and 22 of claw portion [6 extend from the base of the substantially triangular nose 2!], and from the fulcrum I 4, in a direction which is generally opposite to the direction of extension of the pick portion 6. It should be observed also, that the claw legs are substantially parallel, and provide a straight-sided openended way or channel 23 operative as a wrench for application to the valve heads of gas meter shut off valves. The opposed straight sides of the way or channel are indicated by the reference characters 30. If desired, an inner portion of the way or channel may be webbed with a tapering face as at 24 of Fig. 4, to provide a sharp angular edge 25 usable in shearing nails or wires or the like that may be accommodated between the legs of the claw. The angular portion 26 which forms the inner terminus of the way or channel is usable for lifting the heads of nails or other fastening devices. The extreme ends 27 of the claw may be sharpened if desired, and it will be evident also that the claw is tapered like a wedge to ensure application thereof between surfaces or objects to be pried apart.

With further reference to the flattened and enlarged head of the tool, attention is directed to the apertures formed at 28 and 29, which apertures extend through the head from one face to the other. The apertures referred to are in the form of angular sockets usable as wrenches for application to the heads of Valves or caps of various kinds encountered in the performance of the duties of a fire fighter. The socket 29 may be square or rectangular of shape, while the socket 28 is by preference formed to the shape of a pentagon. In this connection, it

is to be understood that the size of the head need not be limited for the accommodation of one or two sockets, but may be enlarged as may be deemed necessary, for carrying a greater number of sockets or wrench openings correspondingly generally to those at 28 and 29. Various other modifications and changes may be made in the structural details of the device, Within the scope of the appended claim, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

A utility tool which comprises an elongated bar having upper and lower opposite ends and an intermediate portion, a section of said intermediate portion near the lower end being flattened and enlarged to a width substantially exceeding the diameter of the bar, said flattened and enlarged portion being plate-like and having a forward cutting edge and a rear blunt edge, a protective nose adjacent to the cutting edge, gradually increasing in width toward the lower end of the bar and in the general direction of the bar axis, a correspondingly broadening fulcrum heel at the rear blunt edge of the enlarged plate-like portion, extending obliquely downwardly to the extreme lower end of the bar at a substantially undiminished width to provide a wedge-shaped bar end, the gradually broadening protective nose meeting the wedge-shaped bar end transversely at a steep inclination extending from the lower terminus of the cutting edge to the butt end of the wedge-shaped bar end.

WALTER C. I-lUXEL. 

